The Swedish public prosecutor’s office announced on Wednesday February 7 that it was closing its investigation into the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines in September 2022 in the Baltic Sea without any prosecution, considering that it was not within its jurisdiction. “The conclusion of the investigation is that it is not within the jurisdiction of Swedish jurisdiction,” Swedish prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist said in a statement.
Major geopolitical event, four huge gas leaks preceded by underwater explosions occurred on September 26, 2022, a few hours apart on Nord Stream 1 and 2, pipes connecting Russia to Germany and transporting most of Russian gas to Europe.
At that time, Moscow had already stopped delivering gas via Nord Stream 1, against the backdrop of an energy standoff with European countries that support Ukraine. Nord Stream 2 never entered service. Three investigations have been opened, in Germany, Sweden and Denmark. The Swedish investigation is the first to be completed.
A “state is behind” the sabotage
“There is no evidence that Sweden or Swedish citizens were involved in this attack which took place in international waters,” said the Swedish prosecutor. Ljungqvist said a “large number” of boat movements were analyzed and “a thorough investigation was carried out at the crime scene.”
The Swedish intelligence service, SÄPO, clarified, in a separate statement, that the sabotage did not target Sweden and did not threaten the country’s security. The gas leaks occurred in international waters, off the Danish island of Bornholm and the coast of southern Sweden.
Responsibility for the explosions was attributed, according to various media investigations, to Ukraine, Russia or the United States, but all denied it. The “main hypothesis is that a state is behind” the sabotage, Swedish prosecutor Ljungqvist said in April 2023, adding that its authors knew “very well that they would leave traces”.
Russian authorities welcome Swedish decision
As part of its judicial cooperation with Germany, the Swedish prosecutor’s office was “able to hand over documents that can be used as evidence in the German investigation,” Ljungqvist added on Wednesday. “Our investigation continues,” responded a spokesperson for the German federal prosecutor’s office when questioned by AFP. “No further information will be provided at this time.”
Russian authorities welcomed the Swedish decision. “This is a remarkable decision,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. “It will be interesting to see how rigorously the German authorities will approach this investigation,” he continued, saying that “a lot of information has been published about the people who could be behind this matter.”
In November, a joint investigation by the American daily Washington Post and the German magazine Der Spiegel assured that a Ukrainian special forces commander had played a key role in the sabotage, as a “coordinator” of the action.
According to the Washington Post, the sabotage operation was designed to keep Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the dark. Mr. Zelensky has repeatedly denied that his country could be involved. “I would never do that,” he told German daily Bild in June, adding that he “would like to see proof.”
